Wintering in Marina di Ragusa, south-east Sicily

Great spot, good deal for a berth September - May, marina staff are excellent, we can fly in and out from Catania or Palermo, or take the train from Rome......

We have been here a week now and leave for Scotland on Monday 17th September and then onward to James and Becky's wedding in Austin, Texas on 6th October!

I know, I know, we were setting out for Morocco or Spain, intending to leave Kinabalu in a safe marina so that we could do the wedding and get back in time to cross the Atlantic at the end of the year.........but "the best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft a-gley"!

The voyage from the Gulf of Tunis took around 35 hours, helped by a knot of current and some wonderful NW breezes.  The seas were moderate and we were comfortable the whole way.

So now we have a plan!  The greatest challenge will be what to do all winter!!  We'll come back to Kinabalu in mid November for a month, do some "boat job" and socialise with any who brave the whole winter on their boats.  Marina di Ragusa (meaning the seaside of the inland town of Ragusa) is a lovely town (pics below) with a local market every Tuesday for fruit and vegetables, great supermarkets and bakeries, very affordable Sicilian wine and a couple of good bars which will stay open in the winter.

Surf on a windy day looking from the marina

Along the board walk from the marina

See the marina in the background